Film vs Ceramic Capacitors

When making a decision about the best type of capacitor to use in a project, it is crucial to understand the differences between Film and Ceramic Capacitors. Having an idea of their peculiar advantages and disadvantages is necessary for making the right choice suitable for the application. A quick comparison could be found below.

Film vs Ceramic Capacitor

What Is a Ceramic Capacitor?

Continuous alternating ceramic and metal layers effectively polarized capacitors are ceramic capacitors.

In the detailed comparison of film vs ceramic capacitor, first you need to understand each of them carefully. Besides, its sturdy design assures dependable operation over a long time and ease of maintenance. Dielectrics are made up of aluminum oxide, barium titanate, and titanium dioxide materials. Ceramic capacitors find widespread use in application areas where the specification calls for a small footprint while requiring high capacitance together with high-temperature and high-voltage changes. In addition, they do not suffer from parasitic inductance since they have a very low self-inductance.

For size and capacitance, ceramic capacitors are just right for an application where a compact size is required. Besides that, ceramic capacitors are not very sensitive to thermal expansion, unlike the film ones, and this gives them an edge over film capacitors when it comes to temperature variations. On the other hand, a number of drawbacks come with ceramic capacitors. Higher frequencies can result in greater losses because of these capacitors’ lower impedance. Furthermore, their relatively slow response time may cause instability issues when used with high-frequency switching power supplies.

What is a Film Capacitor?

Plastic film capacitors, or, metal-film capacitors, have found wide application in electronic devices. Thin plastic film serves as a dielectric layer between two conducting plates in this type of capacitor. Common dielectrics are based on polypropylene (PP), polyester (PET or PEN) and polycarbonate (PC).

The above material does not lose much power in comparison to the rest of the capacitors, since it is inert to temperature. These capacitors are small enough to fit into spaces that many other types might not accommodate. On the other hand, ceramic capacitors exhibit excellent frequency characteristics and may resist high voltages as well.

Compared to other types of capacitors, they are relatively expensive and unsuitable for high-temperature operations because of their plastic content. The use of film capacitors with audio frequencies should also be undertaken with caution, as they tend to generate heat at higher frequencies. A film capacitor’s small size makes them ideal for applications at low temperatures and in limited spaces. This helps with high voltage ratings but does not have great frequency characteristics, since they are not excellent capacitors. The fact that these types are often much warmer during operation leads to less utility in certain applications and can possibly make them cost prohibitive with respect to other kinds of fits.

Film vs Ceramic Capacitor: Best Differences

A rolled up film dielectric is used to construct a film cap. Polycarbonate, Teflon, and polycarbonate are also common materials for film capacitors. Film capacitors are more stable than ceramic capacitors, which are the most common type. Reduced sensitivity to temperature changes may make their applications possible high-precision.

A ceramic capacitor is made up of two metal plates which are ceramic; however, this class of group is generally less expensive and smaller than a film capacitor by providing less precision and reliability. In most cases, accuracy and reliability are less important in applications with ceramic capacitors, compared to size and cost.

Performance of Capacitors has to be considered in the choice between film and ceramic capacitors. In most high-precision applications, an appliance would prefer the more stable and reliable film capacitors. An alternative to it is the ceramic one but they are cheaper and are small contributing to a cost-effective approach. Each type of capacitor serves the purpose of application, however, each has certain advantages and disadvantages.

What is the Cheapest Type of Capacitor?

If you are doing film vs ceramic capacitor comparison, then you also need to look at the price tag. Film capacitors of an equivalent capacitance value are generally more expensive than ceramic capacitors. Ceramic chip designs can be manufactured at low cost by using ceramic dielectrics. Ceramic capacitors are also very economical due to the large volume of production.

Assembling film capacitors requires more manual labor and more costly plastic film dielectrics. Manufacturing costs can also be reduced by reducing production volumes. A film of this quality is worth the cost for circuits with precision and stability.

Does Ceramic Work Better Than Film Capacitors?

Ceramic capacitors can usually replace film capacitors in most cases. In making this decision, you should consider some important differences between the two. Ceramic capacitors offer a higher capacitance, but are more expensive. As compared to large value film capacitors, they also typically have shorter lead times. Film capacitors, however, tend to be more stable at high temperatures and have better ripple current ratings. Regarding EMI/RFI frequencies, ceramics aren’t likely to perform better than films when it comes to noise reduction.

Final Verdict

To conclude, I believe by now you have sufficient knowledge regarding Film vs Ceramic Capacitor differences and which one to choose. Film capacitors take high currents and operate in low temperatures, while ceramics are ideally used in high-temperature low-current. There are pros and cons to both classes of capacitors, but knowing their differences will help to decide the most suitable kind for your specific application.